When popular culture goes looking for America, it often lands in Queens. From Archie Bunker to Doug Heffernan to Peter Parker to George Jefferson (until he moved his family to Manhattan), these Queens characters were all stand-ins for the American Dream.

The borough comes to mind as Congress considers what to do about immigration. Yesterday, members of the House Republican Conference held a meeting to hash out their internal differences. In this we find our sympathies with former vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. The Wisconsin Republican hopes to persuade his fellow GOP congressmen they will best serve both law and enterprise by delivering a clear and workable immigration system that opens the door to hard-working people whose talents will enrich our society.

Queens makes a pretty good case for Ryan’s argument. According to the latest Census figures, nearly half of its 2,271,771 residents are foreign-born. And for years it has had some of the most diverse ZIP codes.

And what has this brought? One of the more vibrant and law-abiding parts of our city. Mayor Bloomberg is fond of noting that immigrants make up half of the small businesses in New York. In immigrant-friendly Queens, the result has been higher economic growth, greater job creation and the opening of more businesses than the city average. The borough also boasts a lower rate of violent crime.

The living, breathing reality of today’s Queens is a showcase for American opportunity, taking people from all corners of the world and allowing them to find a way to live together in peace while adding to the general prosperity. It’s a reminder, too, of a principle often lost in today’s debate: Human beings are assets, not liabilities.